Coffee: Wicked Barista
by othersider
Summary: Not just any day at the coffee shop..
1. Wicked Barista

Veg note: OK trying my hand at a one shot shorty...excuse any typos. They are completely mine as I have done very little editing and I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could actually manage a short and get it posted all in one night..

Enjoy

o0o

* * *

Kirsten the barista hated the Sunday morning crowd. It was full of emo wankers who either bitched about the web access being slow while milking their one and only cup of Americana, stood on their chairs trying to get the 'best' picture of their mocha and biscotti for which they would spend way too much time applying filters and hashtag the hell out of it or sit at their tables and vlog about the latest fashion trends seen on whatever carpet had just been walked up. All ostentatious bullshit that drove her nuts.

The emos didn't tip, the food gurus bitched about their not being enough poppy seed to cookie ration and the fashionista wanna-be's flicked their long, fake hair extensions all over the place. Why she continued to work at this place was beyond her.. Though the hours were generally good and the owner only sometimes tried to peek down her top when she was wiping the tables clean.

Jessica was the only other good thing about the place. She was her best friend for who knows how many years at this point and was her roomie to butt. They shared a tiny, little walk up about 2 blocks over that was rent controlled…a rarity in this day and age and they loved the city of New York.

Mixing stuck up coffees for all these fidiots was just a way for her to stay here and enjoy the crazy city. For a few hours each day, she came here, farted around with her bestie and snickered behind her hand at the crowd of the most irritating bunch of jack asses the work could spew out.

Jessica gave her a hip check as she walked by pulled Kirsten from her musings and she turned around and swatted at her with her dish towel.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jessica rolled her eyes

"You lost me at 'OMG, do you know what Craig did?' after that I pretty much blanked out." Kirsten replied and a smirk on her ruby red lips, flicking her long, dark braid over her shoulder.

"Oh my god, you are such a bitch." Jess shook her head.

"Oh you know you looooovvve me." Kirsten batted her eyelashes all dramatically. "Besides, you know how I feel about that dick wad."

'I know, I know but he has such a great…" Jessica's sentence trailed off.

"Has a what? Great personality?" Receiving no reply, Kirsten turned to her friend. Coffee cup seaming in her hand as she passed it off to one of their regulars.

Jessica whacked her arm a few times with the back of her hand.

"OK, I get it. You like the guys ass but do you really have…"

Jessica yanked on her hair and caused Kirsten to yelp. "Ouch, Jessica. What the fu…" as she spun around on the spot and all thoughts in her head ceased.

The bell above the door chimed a merry jingle as the sexiest thing that ever graced the face of the planet stepped into the coffee house. "Oh thank the powers that be…" Kirsten whispered, fanning her face, "He's back.."

Warn, brown leather creaked across his broad shoulders as he lifted a thickly muscled arm and plucked the dark aviators from his face, revealing the warmest, richest mahogany eyes Kirsten had ever seen.

Heat suffusing her cheeks as her eyes wandered from the top of his gorgeous midnight black hair, down his muscled limbs and unbelievably trim waist, over low slung designer jeans that hugged thick, tight thighs to the tips of his scuffed combat boots and back up again.

The shadow of a beard darkened the strong line of his jaw and the easy smile that curved up his perfect lips made her knees week. This.. this right here was why she continued to work at this shitty place. Screw everything else.. If she never lived to see another day after today she would die happy just by serving this dark haired Adonis a cup of crappy, overpriced coffee.

As he strolled up to the counter, tucking his glasses into the pocket of his plaid shirt he met her eyes and his smile widened. Jessica sank her elbow into her side. "I call dibs." she whispers.

Kirsten picked her jaw off the floor and pounced on her friend. "Hell no! You got Craig.. This one is mine." And shoved her friend out of the way, jumping behind the register so she could ring in his order. She plastered her best 'Please take me home with you' smile on her face and puffed up her b-cups.

"Welcome to the Steamed Bean. Can I take your order?" Please let me have your children, she tacked on in her head. Right here on the counter. I don't care, the emos can watch.

The voice that greeted her ears almost made her lose it right there at the counter. The soft baritone of it sent shivers down her spine all the way to her toes and a heat lit up her insides. "Hey, um.. I'd like a venti chai latte and a venti cappuccino- heavy on the expresso, please."

"Right away. Can I offer you one of our signature biscotti?" She pointed to the glass covered tray beside her. "Best in New York"

An arched brow as he looked at the baked good nearly sent her to the floor. Who had brows that epic?! Really, and that charming little scar didn't detract from his appeal in the least.

"Best in New York, huh? Well,I can't very well pass that up can I?" The smirk.. Oh god that smirk.

Hold it together girl, you can do it, "Sex.. erm sorry I mean six or would you like a baker's dozen?"

Dark and incredibly handsome chuckled at the slip up, a light red bloomed across his the top of his high cheeks but he didn't comment on it. "Let's make it a dozen.. They look really good and I skipped breakfast."

"Sure, coming right up." Nearly tripping over her own feet she scampered about and bumped in her room mate.. Erm what was her name? Right, Jessica, who handed her a take out container for the baked goods and got to grinding the beans for the expresso shots.

"What name should I put on this?" She asked grabbing up the necessary paper insulated cups and breaking out a sharpie.

The hotness shrugged, "V is fine" and pulled his wallet from his pocket.

Kirsten smiled wide and put the black permanent marker to use. Finishing up his order, she tucked his drinks into a tray and handy it to him.

"What do I owe you"

"Oh, it's on the house. Special of the day." She said, leaning over the counter

"Uh… thanks." Came a slightly confused response as he collected up everything. "Appreciate that."

Turning, his back to the counter he weaved his way through the line up towards the door and Kirsten - like every other red blooded woman in the place, even the emo ones - watched as he went. That was a fine back side if ever she had seen one.

She continued to watch as he pushed open the door and stepped outside, fanning herself as naughty thoughts that would be better left at home danced through her head. Just as the line was starting to get crusty with the barista's lack of attention, Jessica came over to her.

"So… " She almost begged for details.

"I think I lost my virginity all over again."

Jessica gawked at her.

"Oh.. and I wrote my number on his cup.."

"Oh you sly fox." Her friend barked out a laugh. Eyeing the next customer that was looking at their watch as if the thing could change the course of history and make the women behind the counter better employees. "Shit, I sure hope he comes back again." Jessica sighed dreamily

"Me too" Kirsten sighed back and turned around to face the hordes.

8-8-8

Virgil stepped out from the coffee shop and expertly made his way through the traffic to the Audi R8 parked at the curb. Setting the cup tray on the roof and holding out the bag of sugary goodness to the love of his life, he leaned in for a kiss.

Kay lips curved up in a secret smile as she took the bag from him and peeked inside. "Mmm biscotti, my favourite."

"Weirdest thing happened..?"

"Oh?" She asked with a quirked brow.

""Barista gave me my order for free.. Said it was the special of the day." He pulled his cup from the tray and leaned back against the sports car beside her.. "How a place can stay open if they give everything away is beyond me." He pondered and took a sip of his hot beverage.

Kay watched him and blinked, lips pursing a bit in displeasure as she watched him raise the hastily scrawled upon cup up for a sip. "Really? I wonder why oh why they would do that...?" She knew damn well why, her own eyes going down his fine form and she blushed as she thought about why they had missed breakfast this morning.

"No idea.. "

Leaning up again she placed a kiss on his cheek and rolled her eyes as she sneaked a hand into his pants pocket to snag the keys.

Virgil sucked in a breath as her questing fingers found things other then his keys. "Tanusha.." he growled, eyes darting around.

Kayo laughed as she freed the keys and darted around the car. "Come on, oh clueless wonder. We gotta get back before Scott's head explodes."

Virgil just shook his head, he would never understand the opposite sex. Grabbing up the coffee tray he slipped in the passenger seat beside her and off they went with a squeal of tires.


	2. Anyone up for murder?

Veg-notables: (- still working on that..) Well this one seems to have taken a little detour.. a saw the below prompt and just had to do something with it... so ya.. this happened..

Prompt: " They'd discuss their murder plans over coffee. It was convenient; one of them worked there. " scrawl-your-heart-out on tumblr

Enjoy

8-8-8

Jessica watched quietly as Kirsten proceed to stumble all over herself with the dark haired Tracy. She'd been waiting weeks for this moment, knowing that the T.I main office was just around the corner and this confirmed the rumours.

Once every four months this particular sibling could be found coming into one of several coffee shops around the tall tower. She had suspected there might be a pattern to it as she had heard that the Tracy's employed a covert ops and security specialist and it seemed her suspicions had paid off.

She's been employed at this little cafe for around 6 months now. Her handler, Craig had helped her procure the position and the appropriate cover story. Part of that being a bit easier then the other as she had already been living with the completely oblivious Kirsten. Convincing the other woman to seek employment here had been a spur of the moment thing, but now as she watched the slender woman basically crawl across the counter she was happy with her decisions.

It provided her with the perfect distraction, grabbing a towel she brushed past the brunette and meander down the long counter to wipe at some non-existent liquid. Leaning over to get to a particularly tricky corner around the massive expresso machine, she glanced out the front window to the street.

Beyond the marqueed store front, across the busy street her eyes settled on the sleek sports car, obviously belonging to her mark. Leaning casually against it, watching the world go by with a practiced eye was the specialist. Her dark hair up in a high tail, arms crossed over her chest and trying to look as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Jess knew better though. She'd been in the trade long enough, seen enough and done enough to know when she was looking at an expert. She would have to watch out for this one.

Putting the rag down before her casual cleaning look too forced, Jessica snagged up a paper bag and proceed to fill it with the bakery goods. She'd been surreptitiously listening into the exchange between her co-worked and her mark, that and she needed some way to get a tracker into that car.

Pulling the sticky backing off she stuck it to the bottom of the bag. It was disguised for just this purpose and would only be noticed under close scrutiny. Filling the order she set the bag at Kirsten's elbow and watched the final exchange between the pair. Resisting the urge to sigh at the overt attempts of the one sided flirting. It was obvious the man wasn't interested…with a woman like the one outside waiting for him, it was a pretty good guess that his attention was directed elsewhere.

"So….." She queried as her target dodged through the crowd and headed out the front door….

8-8-8

Grabbing up a bag of garbage, Jessica signaled to her roomie that she was going to head out back to the dumpster. The heavy door she'd muscled open, shut behind her on squeaky hinges as she stepped out into the sweltering back aisle.

She'd been right about the pair, they were an item. Something her handler may take an interest in, maybe not but she might be able to use it to her advantage. Plans started to formulate in her mind.

Pulling her burner phone from her pocket she called up her contact. If she could reach Craig tonight they could discuss plans over coffee, this place did have its uses after all.


	3. The game is afoot

"Veg-notables - ya.. so I have been sitting on this one a while and figured it was about time I posted it.

Enjoy..

oOo 

Being a fashion vlogger was a rather tedious task even if one was completely faking it all. How one managed to not go insane was completely beyond the esteemed and lauded, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. 

The lighting, the make-up, the clothing, the location. All had to be thought out and pondered over with a ridiculous amount of details. Lady Penelope's particular taste tended towards that of the upper echelon of which she was a hereditary card carrying member but she was rather dubiously tasked with looking anything but what she was. Covered with the equivalence of theatrical stage make-up and positions her holo-cam so that she caught the best angle of natural light through the poster strewn front window.

Usually blending in was easy enough task to accomplish when on any given assignment but with this particular one even she was finding it .. rather hair raising. The amount of research into what was considered on-trend this season had been surprisingly rather complex and the consumption of time needed had astounded even her patience.

Not that anyone in this little corner of New York would ever know it or even be aware enough outside of their own little spheres of reality to care. Amidst the trend setters, pseudo - food connoisseurs and overly emotional whats-its it took surprisingly little effort to not be noticed. Though to be noticed one would have to remove one's own head from whatever it was they were doing.

But this was all besides the point of this little endeavor..all but window dressing for the true show. Lady Penelope was ever the astute observer though and she had always been known for her attention to detail. Only one who ran in the circles she was unknown to run in would ever look closely enough to possibly see past her rouse.

In this case, it was the so- called strumpet behind the coffee counter who was rather surreptitiously glancing about the crowded mid-afternoon coffee shop and assessing threat levels of all those present as if one of the many might attack her with an overpriced confectionery.

Jessica; as Lady Penelope had found to be called, was the one who she had to convince and who all this preparation and effort was for.

Lucky for Penny though, her disguise of long black, blunt banged hair and garish neon latex coverings had done their intended task, that accompanied her Stanford acting chops and years of working under cover had only elicited a minor glance of annoyance from her assailant.

Clearing her throat demurely as she set her camera up juuuusssttt right, the faux vlogger flicked her long, ebony locks over her shoulder. She regarded the image reflected back to her via the view finders and tipped the camera's angle slightly to take in the scenery at her back. And just as the lingering sensation of the itch that had been plaguing her since her arrival made itself known again the door chimed. Lips perking at the image that appeared before her, she opened the gold compact in her lap and signaled the mission was a go.


	4. Big Green

Veg●notable: This has been sitting in my W.I.P file for a while figured its about time I posted it...

Enjoy...

oOo

Glancing in the rear view, Kayo swung her door open and stepped out into the Autumnal sunshine.

The air had a mild bite to it which was a complete contrast to her warm island home. Virgil seemed to thrive in this sort of weather despite his years on the island, it invigorated him and put a little spring in his step which in turn brought a soft smile to her face.

"You're happy this morning." Virgil stated, slipping around the hood of the car and joining her on the sidewalk.

She shrugged and tucked her hands into the pockets of her soft, brown leather coat, "It's a nice morning."

Virgil bit back a yawn and stretched, leaning back against the side panel of the slick sports car. "A little too early if you ask me. Why they plan meeting at this time of the morning is beyond me"

"Well, for normal people the day actually starts before noon." She teased with an arched brow.

Reaching out, Virgil carefully tucked a loose strand behind her ear. "The point being," He started, smoothing his fingers along her jawline. "We own the company so meeting times should be a bit more flexible."

Kayo shivered and hunched her shoulders against the breeze that rustle the leaves of the small elms that lined the sidewalk.. "Well, you should discuss that with your brother. He set it up."

"And knowing you, you objected to it being in person and suggested a holo conference." Seeing her quiver, Virgil frowned and pulled the zipper of her jacket up higher.

"Yes, and obviously he ignored it. Something about doing stuff in person is more personal and its good for the board to see a Tracy in the flesh." Her voice dropped a few octaves for the last part in a poor imitation of Scott's voice.

"Scott likes to add the personal touch to business dealings. It was something Dad always prided himself on and it's only reasonable that Scott would hold to the same values."

"Well next time he should pick a warmer location." She groused.

Virgil's chuckle at her crankiness which brought a childish pout to her face as she grumbled. "You know, your love of coffee is bordering on obsession, right?" Obviously redirecting the course of their conversation to cover for her distaste of their current situation.

His very pleasing lips, turned up in a cocky grin as he went with the topic change. "Well I wouldn't need it so much if someone hadn't decided to jump into ensuite jacuzzi at 1 in the morning."

Her own lips curved up as she stepped into the embrace of his arms and nearly sighed at the warmth radiating off of him. "Well, no one said you had to join me."

A look that passed over his face as he dipped down to nip at her lips made her laugh. "Like I could resist that temptation. I only have so much control and you know it."

She laughed and slipped her hands inside his jacket and around his trim waist, her fingers grasping at the loose folds of the cable knit sweater he wore to stave off the cold. At least one of them had come prepared for the weather, next time she would remember to check the forecast. "You are way too easy to manipulate."

A mock look of shock had his brows shooting off into his hairline. "Oh, so you admit it. I knew it!"

She pecked a kiss on the end of his nose. "Ok Hot Shot, we don't have all day.. Go get your fix already." She swatted at his backside before pointing off towards their destination. "At your rate of travel it's going to be time for bed again before we even get a hot drink."

His lips skimmed down her neck and had her pulse skipping a beat before stepping back from her. The shit eating grin on his face proof that he knew exactly what he had just done to her. "Bed? Now that sounds like a great idea.."

"Don't even think it!" She barked out a laugh. "Scott would have my hide if you missed this board meeting."

It was Virgil's turn to pout but he acquiesced and with practiced ease slipped across the street, through the snarling traffic and to the little coffee shop he had insisted on stopping at.

Her eyes stayed on him as the door closed behind him and she told herself she had not just watched his ass make the whole journey .. but really, who was she kidding? It was a very fine posterior.

Giving her head a shake, she got serious and once again her eyes scanned over the crowds around them and the nondescript sedan that had been tailing them. She nodded her head as she made eye contact with the driver, one of her security personnel who she had personally hired and vetted.

Pulling out a small comm device from her pocket, she slipped it into her ear. "All eyes on deck, Big Green is on site." The series of acknowledgments that sounded back to her were very professional and just what she expected from the well trained group.

#-#-#

Late that night, Kayo arched her back and stretched. Her hair was flared out around her in a glorious halo of dark, thick waves and her body was sublimely loose and achy in all the right places.

One thickly muscled arm was thrown casually across her midriff, fingers lax and gently curled as the man they were attached to slept on.

Looking over at the mussed, ebony haired man beside her, Kayo lips turned up affectionately. His face was turned towards her though half buried in his pillow, mouth slightly parted as he lightly snored away.

Sprawled out on his stomach, the sheet riding low on his trim hips, Kayo couldn't resist lightly skimmed her fingers up his back before leaning over to brush her lips across his shoulder blade. Virgil stirred lightly and one warm, brown eye cracked open, there was a question in his sleepy grunt.

"Shhh," She hushed, "Go back to sleep."

With little fuss he snuggled into his pillow and drifted off again within seconds.

Waiting just long enough to ensure the steady rise and fall of his thickly padded chest, Kayo untangled her limbs from his and slipped out of the bed, quietly escaping and comfortably nude across the thick carpeting of their luxurious St. Regis hotel suite of rooms.

She was careful to avoid tripping over the trail of discarded clothing that lead from the sitting area through the pocket doors to the now very rumpled sheets and she ducked stealthy into the bathroom. Grabbing a sumptuous robe off the back of the door, she slipped into it and set herself down at the richly appointed settee that graced one wall of the immaculate space.

Reaching into her toiletry bag, she grabbed her back up communicator and was instantly met by a smiling Lady Penelope.

"Tanusha," She greeted, her eagle eyes taking in the security specialist rather 'tumbled' appearance with the slightest cock of one manicured brow. "I was beginning to suspect you'd forgotten about today's conspiratorial agenda."

Letting the veiled reprimand roll off her shoulders, Kayo straightened her spine. "Sorry for the lateness of the hour, your Ladyship." She swept her loose locks to one side, the thick length trailed over and dark against the bright white covering her shoulders. "I was detained."

The smile that lit Penelope's eyes was very telling and Kayo resisted the urge to shut off the visual feed and go audio only. Her manners kicking in, she shoved the thought away and focused on the nature of her call. "Sanders reported in at 2100, advised that our friend had a visitor for coffee."

"That she did." Penelope corroborated. "I suspect it was her handler, I have assigned some agents to 'escort' at a respectable distance and report back their findings. As it stands at the moment though, this particular gentleman is an unknown to us."

An enhanced image transferred to her and Kayo had a good look at the average face that flashed on her display. He was 30 something, thin build but deceptively athletic if the way he held himself said anything. His eyes though and the obvious bulge under his coat added another element. "Ex-military?" She thought out loud.

"I had the same thought as well. Various sources are being quietly contacted."

"And our coffee wench?"

Penelope tutted at Kayo's unsavoury term. "Now, now. No need for such vulgarity."

Kayo narrowed her eyes, "She has an active contract on Virgil so the vulgarity is applicable...and I am keeping the more 'creative" phrasings to myself out of respect for present company.

The British agent tipped her head in acceptance. "Point taken and I thank you for your courteousness."

Another image flashed in front of Kayo and Penelope read her the dossier "Jessica Warner..aka Tracy Steinbeck, aka Rebecca Adler .. to name a few aliases, has numerous affiliations with the disreputable sort and seems to be well known on the dark web for her paid for hire services and discretion."

"Not so discreet this time around, " Kayo muttered, "Her location now?"

"Home. She is being monitored round the clock. If she so much as orders food in, we will be aware of it. "

"Good, she'll need her beauty sleep for tomorrow." A wicked gleam came to her face as she thought about the tracking device in the biscotti bag. She had plans for it but now was not the time to put them in motion, she didn't want to tip her hand and alert the hired gun that her cover was blown.

Kayo's gaze flicked to the waste basket under the counter and her eyes narrowed on the hastily scrawled information on the crushed disposable coffee cup. "Her room mate…there wasn't anything on her in the GDF databank or with my connections. Anything come up on your end?"

She watched the elegant shack of Penelope's head. "Nothing, just a civilian with a very poor taste in living companions."

"Lucky for her."

"Indeed."

Hearing stirring from the other room, Kayo glanced towards the washroom door. "Keep me posted if anything comes up and I will do likewise. If you can't reach me contact Sanders. I'll send you his comms info."

"Appreciated. Good night, Kayo. Send Virgil my best."

Kayo rolled her eyes. "Night, your Ladyship."

oOo

TBC


End file.
